New report - 10 signs the UK food system is killing us

• New report lifts the lid on the UK’s broken food system, reveals the ten key signs that it’s damaging our nation’s health and proposes remedies for tackling the problem
• Shocking new statistics reveal a national scandal – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Sadiq Khan, and Tom Watson MP are among voices calling for urgent political attention
• Diabetes-related amputations have risen by 25% in the last eight years
• Nearly half (45.6%) of the people employed in the food industry are low-paid
• Only 14% of ready meals are meat-free
• Children in deprived communities are more than 1cm shorter on average than their wealthier counterparts by the time they reach age 11
• Half of breakfast cereals marketed to children are high in sugar, and one portion contains more than a third of a child’s daily allowance
• Children and poorest families are the first to suffer the health consequences of a rigged system

A new report, The Broken Plate, identifies ten signs that show the UK ’s food system has led the country into a national health crisis, with children and households on low incomes suffering the severest health consequences.

Ten fatally-flawed cogs in the system that puts food on UK tables are working to damage our mental and physical health. New analysis from independent think tank the Food Foundation and partner organisations finds that diabetes-related amputations have risen by 25% in the last eight years, only 14% of ready meals are meat-free and nearly half (46.5%) of the people who are employed in the food industry are low-paid. Furthermore, people working for food companies top the list of those seeking payday loans in the UK.

The analysis also shows that children in deprived communities are more than one centimetre shorter on average than children in wealthy communities by the time they reach age 11, that half of breakfast cereals marketed to children are high in sugar, and that childhood obesity rates in deprived areas are more than double compared with their wealthier counterparts.

The damage inflicted on public health by the UK food system, and the barriers to accessing affordable, healthy food, are evident: 20% of 11-year-olds are obese, 3.1 million people are registered with diabetes, 16% of adults report skipping meals because they don’t have enough money and nearly four million children are living in households for whom a healthy diet is unaffordable. In the fifth biggest economy in the world, the poorest 10% of UK households would have to spend three quarters of their disposable income on food in order to afford a healthy diet as defined by the Government.

The Broken Plate makes recommendations for how to reshape the food system so that healthy diets are affordable, appealing and convenient for all. Preventing marketing unhealthy food to children, supporting public health in the Agriculture Bill, encouraging industry to create healthier products and harnessing the power of public procurement to deliver healthier meals in hospitals, schools and prisons would all help to put the right food on UK tables in order to support rather than harm public health. The report also calls for the Government and businesses to develop a bold vision for tackling the problem, and identifies cross-departmental accountability as crucial to reducing diet-related illness and health inequalities.

Case studies featured in the report provide examples of successful efforts to influence food systems, highlighting policies that can make a meaningful difference when properly implemented. The Amsterdam Healthy Weight Programme was launched in 2013 in response to substantially higher rates of childhood overweight and obesity compared to the Netherlands national average. The prevalence of overweight children in Amsterdam dropped from 21% in 2012 to 18.5% in 2015, with the biggest decrease among children with a low socioeconomic status. In 2014, the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grant programme was launched in the US, and aimed to make it easier for low income households to buy more fruit and vegetables by providing food-purchasing. Between 74% and 94% of participants reported an increase in their purchase or consumption of fruits and vegetables, as well as improved health outcomes such as weight loss and chronic disease management.

Anna Taylor, Executive Director of the Food Foundation, said: “The evidence in The Broken Plate shows clearly that we are not all free to choose a healthy diet if we want to. Unhealthy options are more accessible, more abundant and three times more affordable: we have a system that is rigged against our ability to buy food that’s good for us. The consequences for our health are devastating, and are felt most keenly by children and deprived households. There’s no silver bullet for fixing our broken food system, but the change we so urgently need will be possible if industry and government take action now.”